A collaborative study between Australian and Indian researchers has revealed that a newly developed gold-based drug may prove more effective against cancer than conventional platinum-based chemotherapy drugs. The drug demonstrated an incredible ability to slow the growth of tumours in animal studies by a remarkable 82% and selectively target cancer cells.
The research conducted by RMIT University and published in the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, discovered that the gold compound showed 27 times more potency against lab-grown cervical cancer cells than the standard chemotherapy drug, cisplatin. It also demonstrated 3.5 times more effectiveness against prostate cancer and 7.5 times more against fibrosarcoma cells.
Compared to cisplatin’s 29% reduction in cervical cancer tumour growth in mice, the gold compound showed an 82% reduction. These promising results are a significant stride towards finding alternatives to platinum-based cancer drugs, according to Project Lead at RMIT, Distinguished Professor Suresh Bhargava AM.
The newly synthesized gold-based compound combines high reactivity and biological activity, designed to interact with thioredoxin reductase, an enzyme abundant in cancer cells. This interaction inhibits the enzyme’s activity, effectively shutting down the growth and multiplication of cancer cells.
By specifically targeting cancer cells and reducing systemic toxicity, the gold-based compound overcomes the shortcomings of platinum-based cisplatin that indiscriminately damages both healthy and cancerous cells, resulting in toxic side effects.
In addition to this, the gold compound also exhibited the ability to halt the formation of new blood vessels, a process vital for tumour growth, marking the first time such an effect, known as anti-angiogenesis, was observed in their series of gold compounds.
The compound was particularly effective against ovarian cancer cells, which often develop resistance to cisplatin treatment. “Seeing our gold compound have such strong efficacy against tough-to-treat ovarian cancer cells is an important step toward addressing recurrent cancers and metastases,” said Project Co-Lead at RMIT, Distinguished Professor Magdalena Plebanski.
The project, supported by a $2 million Australia-India Strategic Research Fund grant, is a joint effort between RMIT and the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) in Hyderabad. Key contributors from RMIT include Dr Srinivasa Reddy, an RMIT and IICT alumnus, and Dr Ruchika Ojha, a Research Fellow at RMIT.
The study’s findings have caught the attention of the gold industry, with ABC Bullion pledging an annual donation of over AUD $30,000 worth of pure Australian gold to support further research. The project has also piqued the interest of Canada’s third-largest gold producer, Agnico Eagle Mines.
With gold’s well-documented healing properties and its acceptance by the human body, the research team believes that their work is a significant step towards scientifically validating and amplifying these properties to combat cancer.
